Wonders
by Gemma The Human
Summary: Everybody leaves. Everyone. Maybe not by their own will, maybe they are pushed away or maybe their lifespan just isn't long enough. Either way, they still leave. But sometimes, it's worth the risk. Knowing something can't last forever doesn't mean it can't be something great. And maybe, just maybe, Marceline hadn't run out of wonders after all.
1. Chapter 1

**This is for Scath H Wolff who wanted a fic about Marceline and Bonnibel's past. I might continue it if you guys are interested, but right now I'm leaving it as a one-shot. I hope you enjoy. **

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**Wonders**

Everybody leaves. Everyone. Maybe not by their own will, maybe they are pushed away or maybe their lifespan just isn't long enough. Either way, they still leave. It's as sure as the merciless sun in the sky everyday, the cool gentle moonlight through the dark every night, the melting of snow when spring arrives for the thousandth time. It's became part of a cruel routine. A routine the vampire queen should be very used to. Indifferent to perhaps.

She had spent a long time alone. Hundreds of years in fact. She had developed her music skills, along with her executing skills. She had fought, and scrapped and very rarely lost. She had played for thousands of people, seen everywhere there was to see, swept down the highest mountains and screamed into the biggest canyons. She'd stubbornly swam up waterfalls and tamed the largest of beasts for fun. Witnessed the destruction and restoration of great civilizations, and sometimes, civilizations that were never rebuilt, only to be lost to time and the memories of the eternal teen.

But what did it matter when she had no one to share it all with, no one else to witness it with her? No matter how amazing the sight was, it would never be enough for Marceline.

It had been years since she had came anywhere close to the Candy Kingdom, maybe decades, time wasn't a concept she thought too much about. She had ghosts there. Not like Wendy, Booboo, and Georgy. Emotional ghosts. One of the biggest was occupying the castle looming over the Ice Kingdom, not far from where she currently was.

She let her weary eyes drift towards that direction, only to tear them away before she could spot any ice towers emerging from the horizon. Why she was back in this part of Ooo, she didn't know. Maybe she had run out of wonders to behold, but that seemed impossible. The world was constantly adapting and changing before her eyes, there would always be wonders and marvels side by side with the disasters and tragedies that struck even the most beautiful of places, after all these years both tragic and wonderous sights had lost their attraction.

What had never lost its attraction was messing with people. That had always amused Marceline, each reaction could always be different from the last.

She flashed a grin before slipping down to the kingdom below her feet. Of course the streets were empty at this time of night, so she saw no need to hide herself. Marceline swept up and over the candy houses, nearly balking from how sweet the place smelt. Most houses were dark, the occupants probably sleeping soundly by now.

The vampire was about to give up and scope out somewhere new until she heard hushed voices floating above the castle's garden walls.

"...any point. There hasn't been a serious attack on the castle in a year, probably more."

"You can't get down on them for wanting to keep the kid safe, she's a princess after all."

"Come on, I didn't mean it like that, I just mean... should there really be this many of us around when..."

A new princess? Man, she forgot candy people got busy. Even the royal ones. How the actual reproduction worked... She didn't even want to know. She waited until the guards (who looked like strange upright banana's) were out of sight and slunk towards the castle. Inwardly laughing at how lumped up the kid would look, Marceline searched for a way in. For a place with so many guards, they weren't being overly safe. Most windows were left wide open, almost begging someone to climb inside. Or in this case: float.

"Probably a good idea to lay low right about now." Marceline muttered before letting her from fade away, making the castles hallway appear empty once more.

It's always the tower, right? Highest room of the tallest tower. There had to be some truth in that. Everything else about this kingdom was damn cliché.

There was only one room in the tallest tower she could find. Well, one door. Knowing her luck it was probably a broom cupboard. Still, Marceline eased it open ever so slightly, bringing an invisible eye to the space between the door frame and dark wood.

Bingo.

The room was large and sickening pink, the drapes and wall covers a nauseating mix of dark, light and powder pink. The bed was very much the same. Listening carefully, though she really had no need, she attempted to pinpoint the quick telltale breathing of a baby.

Nothing like that came to her ears, quickly scanning the room, she saw no crib either. Only the large bed, mainly made up of fluffy pillows and too many blankets. There was one person in the room though, but maybe her 'tallest tower' theory was wrong after all because the breathing far too heavy to be coming from an infant. Marceline went to shut the door again when a childlike murmur and a ruffle of blankets stopped her.

Maybe the new princess wasn't so new after all.

Allowing herself a smirk of success, the vampire slipped into the room, quietly clicking the door back into place.

What if it was made of chocolate? Would it melt if it got too warm? Oh glob, what if there was chocolate everywhere under those blankets? Man, that would be priceless!

She inched closer, rising higher in the air as she did. Marceline needed to get a good look at this.

Is ice-cream candy? It wasn't very likely that the princess was made of that. She'd be dripping melted cream everywhere when she grew up, maybe when she'll try giving a speech. Maybe even slipping on the spillage as she tried to act royal. Marceline had to cover her laugh induced snorting with her hand. No use getting caught now when she hadn't even had a look at the thing.

She was hovering a mere meter above the bed now, a grey arm reaching out for the edge of the silk bedding. She grasped it in a steady hand, and slowly dragged the blanket away from the small, sleeping frame.

It slipped from her fingers with very little grace, tumbling back on to the bed she hung over. Well... that definitely was not the melted mess she imagined. A small girl, looking no older than nine years old, was curled up in a little ball clutching at her pillows with pink little hands. As she looked, Marceline saw that all of her skin was pink. An intoxicating sweet scent attacked her senses then, how she hadn't picked up on it before was a mystery. Was that bubblegum? Wow. The child looked almost human. Human apart from the bubblegum on her head in place of keratin based hair, and the shade of her too-pink skin.

Slowly, Marceline descended until she was sat cross-legged at the end of the young princess's bed, staring into the sleeping girl's face. It had been a while since she had seen anything look so human. Sure, she'd met beings with similar body structure, but usually they'd be on fire or have goat feet or rotting flesh hanging off thin bones. The less distracted part of her brain suddenly remembered owing a zombie some money, but that could wait.

Tentatively, the queen extended a long finger to prod the short bubblegum hair, it gave a satisfying squish under her fingertip. She then trailed her finger to the princess's face and very lightly traced the skin at her cheek. It felt like ordinary flesh, like Marceline's, only very warm under her icy touch. Suddenly the princess clenched her eyes tight before they fluttered open to reveal shocking sky blue orbs looking right at her.

Funny, Marceline assumed they'd be pink just like the rest of- wait.

The princess froze, her mouth fell open, eyes jumping from the vampire's eyes to the finger still touching her and back again.

Shit.

She didn't need vampire hearing to catch the heavy intake of breath the princess heaved, probably readying herself to scream for her parents or guards. Or anyone.

Double shit.

"No!" Marceline almost yelled, retracting her finger. She tried again only quieter this time. "No, shh, I'm not gonna hurt you, kid." In a panic, she pressed a hand over the preteen's mouth, leaving the pink button nose free so she could breathe.

"Mmffh!" One thing she could say about the princess was that she didn't look scared. Though she must have been. Minutes ago she was off in the land of forty winks only to be awoken by a monster crouched over her in the middle of the night, a monster that was now desperately trying to get her to shut up. If anything, she looked displeased and shocked.

The princess started to flail wildly, trying to get away from the stranger above her. Hands whooshed past Marceline's face as the girl attempted to fight back what she must have thought was an attack. Couldn't blame the kid, really.

"Hey," Marceline started, dodging another blow. "I said I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I can totally explain this. Just stop trying to hit me, it's embarrassing."

Surprisingly the princess seemed to listen to her. She stopped waving her arms around, and started frowning instead. Man, the kid already has an insane death-glare. Stuck for what to say, the queen started with the basics, afraid any silence would freak the child out even more.

"My name's Marceline, I don't make a habit of sneaking into kid's bedrooms in the middle of the night. See, I used to kinda live around here. And uh... I just got back from a really long trip. I heard there was a new princess so I came to check it out. That's all, okay?"

Well, the frown was still there, but she felt the princess clamp her mouth shut under her hand.

"So... if I take my hand away, promise you wont scream? I really don't wanna draw any attention to myself right now." No movement. "And if I was gonna kill you, I would have done it already, alright?"

That seemed to do something. The bubblegum girl looked over Marceline once, then twice, then gave what looked like a laboured nod. Blowing out air she didn't really need, Marceline withdrew her hand little by little until it was beside her own head, raised in a half surrender gesture. The pink girl looked like she was going to keep her promise of not shrieking the castle down, so she moved back keeping her jean clad legs underneath her. The young girl scooted back, pressing her back against the headboard of her bed.

"I suppose that is true." She murmured, voice as sweet as her skin, chewing the inside of her cheek. "I am Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum."

Manners at a time like this, she's a princess alright.

"Okay, I guess I should... wait. Your name is Bubblegum? Seriously?" She said, repressing a snort.

"Yes, why? What's wrong with it?" Bonnibel clenched her little hands into fists and glared at the vampire.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just... you know, you're made of bubblegum."

"Yes, that is why Bubblegum was chosen as my surname." The young princess spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Marceline could have sworn there was an eye-roll thrown in there too. That's not very princess like, she thought it best to keep that thought to herself though. For now.

"Your surname was chosen? So you weren't born with it or whatever?" Feeling a little calmer, the teen lifted her arms to rest behind her head, and shut her eyes. She quickly stopped herself from levitating off the bed. Too many things at once could really weird the girl out.

"Born with it? No, I was engineered, so I wasn't exactly born." Bubblegum seemed to have calmed down too, she shrugged her shoulders with her statement, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

Red eyes snapped back open and landed on Bubblegum.

_She was made? Like, in a lab? That's crazy... _

Bubblegum was staring at Marceline now, a quizzical look on her face.

"What?" Marceline asked slowly, she was the one frowning now.

"N-nothing. You just seem shocked."

"Well, it's not everyday you meet a person who was like, designed and put together and junk. And believe me, I've met a lot of people."

Bubblegum nodded, seeming like she understood. The kid was smart for her age. However old she _really _was anyway. Maybe she'd always looked like this and was actually really old. But the guards outside had called her a kid. Damn, this stuff was messed up.

"So, did your parents create you or..?" Talking seemed to help ease the princess, and there was no harm in making small talk with her. If this could even be classed as small talk. It had been a while since the queen took part in a conversation that didn't end in a bloodbath or three, she may as well take advantage of the situation, even if the conversation was with a royal candy sprog.

"My mother did, yes."

"She the Queen?" Marceline probed, stretching her legs out across the horribly pink sheets.

"She was..." Bubblegum breathed, observing the crinkle of silk as pink fingers trailed across her bed sheets. It was a quiet statement. So quiet, yet so hard-hitting. The vampire almost felt a rough clench in the useless muscle that was once her very alive, beating heart. Ouch.

"I'm sorry." A thousand years old and she had never learned what to say. She had witnessed death before, in the thousands in fact. She watched as the former world burnt away into nothing, she had even brought death upon people herself. Yet the hardest thing would always be figuring what to say to person who has lost someone. It was even worse when that person was a mere child. Marcy scowled at the pathetic sentence. What would sorry do? Nothing. And she hated that. Not being able to do something was the most frustrating thing. But apparently the princess didn't want to be comforted. She simply shook the sad look away, and Marceline was glad to see it go. That look was too old and too shattered to appear on a child's face, it reminded her of another certain shattered child. Marceline shook her head too.

The two sat in silence for a while. Marceline lazing back on the bed, relaxed, like she owned the very air around her, and Bonnibel sat resting her behind on her legs folded under her, hands on her knees.

Marceline was about to apologize for, well, everything and take her exit but before she could move to get up, Bonnibel spoke.

"You're a vampire."

Marceline froze. Only for a split second, then opened one eye to look at Bubblegum. She was still sitting on her legs, only her hands were now placed on the bed and she was leaning forward the tiniest bit. Interest danced along her features, big blue eyes glittering under the moonlight seeping into her room. She looked curious, which was better than looking afraid like Marceline had expected.

"Am I?" She drawled, keeping her eye on the princess, searching for any fearful reaction.

"You must be." Bubblegum adjusted her sitting position so she was sat crossed legged, elbows on her knees, face in her hands, leaning even further forward.

"Really?" Deciding she really wouldn't freak out, Marceline winked and finally let herself float up and off the bed until she was parallel with the ceiling. Spinning so she was upside down, her hair cascading down in a river of black satin, Marcy smirked allowing a fang to poke out over her bottom lip. "What makes you think that?"

"I knew it!" The princess laughed loudly, jumping up to stand on her bed. She wasn't anywhere near tall enough to join the vampire, so Marceline dropped down until they were at eye level, remaining upside down all the while. "There aren't many vampires in Ooo."

"Yeah, you're welcome." Marcy laughed. There had been many vampires when Marcy first came to this part of Ooo, and being territorial creatures they had fought for land and pride. Of course they were no match for her. She was skilled and ruthless, and had no issue with putting lower beings in their place.

"What?" Still smiling, the princess raised one thin pink eyebrow at her.

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to tell a kid about vampire brawling.

"Probably should have mentioned it in the introductions," She started, flipping right-side-up and clasping the young girls hand so quickly it made Bonni's head spin. "Vampire queen at your service, princess." She brushed her cold lips across the top of Bonni's hand before letting go to push a lock of hair behind a pointed ear.

"You're a queen?" Bonni couldn't help but grin, and Marcy couldn't help but grin back. She could see what all the fuss was about, the bittybite wasn't so bad.

Without warning the door handle on the other side of the room began to rattle, then the door flew open, and a little, round candy man stumbled in.

"Princess! Are you alright? Some of the servants heard noises coming from..." The red and white candy trailed off, taking in the sight of Bubblegum standing on top of her bed. "Princess?"

Looking around frantically, Bonni saw no sign of Marceline. Her wide eyes landed on Peppermint Butler, still stood staring at her. "Oh yes, I'm fine, Peppermint. Sorry about the noise, I thought I saw a uh..." Her telescope caught her eye first. "New constellation. Yeah, and I got excited and um... sorry about the noise Peppermint." She felt her face flush red so she dived back into bed, pulling the covers up to her nose.

"Hm, well, yes." The butler said, looking at the princess like she had lost her mind. "Well, goodnight princess."

"Goodnight Peppermint."

After hearing the handle click, Bonni let her breath out in a quick exhale, only so gasp it back in when she heard a voice right next to her ear.

"That was a close one, huh?"

"Marcy!" Bubblegum's hand flew to her pounding heart while Marceline raise a brow at her.

"Marcy?"

"Oh.. um, sorry I-"

"No," She interrupted, lounging back in midair. "It's okay, I like it." She said, offering a small smile. Bonni returned a shy one.

"Hey wait, where are you going?" Throwing the covers off herself, Bubblegum ran after the vampire who was making her way to the locked window.

"Uh, I'm leaving. It's pretty late and I did break in and stuff." Marceline shrugged before clicking the window open and lifting a foot to the ledge, she stopped when she felt a hand fist into her striped jumper. Looking down she saw Bonni, red-faced and staring at the ground.

"Um, do you think you could come back tomorrow?"

"What?"

"Come back here I mean, to see me. I was thinking maybe we could... We could be friends. I mean you're a royal too so..." Her grip tightened ever so slightly around the jumper. "So... there are reasons to be friends."

"You don't think it would be weird?" Marceline asked after a second or two.

The small girl looked up, all innocence and confusion. "Why would it be?"

"Well, I'm like super old, not to mention dead." She shrugged as best as she could while her jumper was still in the princess's grip. Seeing the girls face fall slightly, she added. "But, if you want to... Sure, we could be friends."

Suddenly a face splitting grin flashed onto Bubblegum's young face. "Okay!" She smiled, letting go of Marceline.

The teen patted her on the head, whispered a goodnight, and swept out of the open window. Bonni rushed to the window to shout out a loud "Don't be late" not caring if Peppermint Butler came running again.

Everybody leaves. Everyone. Maybe not by their own will, maybe they are pushed away or maybe their lifespan just isn't long enough. Either way, they still leave. But sometimes, it's worth the risk. Knowing something can't last forever doesn't mean it can't be something great. And maybe, just maybe, Marceline hadn't run out of wonders after all.

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**Thank you for reading, I hope enjoyed it! If you want this continued let me know and I'll see if there's enough interest. Also please review, any suggestions or thoughts would be awesome!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, you guys seemed like you wanted me to continue this, here it is. It might not be as good as the first chapter and I haven't really had a chance to check over it, so sorry about that. Enjoy. **

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**Wonders Chapter Two**

She had told the vampire not to be late. Which, in hindsight might have been a stupid thing to demand. They hadn't set a time after all. Perhaps Marceline would show up the same time she had the previous night. Whatever time that had been.

It was late afternoon, and princess Bubblegum was pouring over the old treaties and declarations of the Candy Kingdom. Usually the princess would commit herself to her studies, it was of the utmost importance she knew everything there was to know about the kingdom she would officially rule one day. But that afternoon was different.

The child's mind was occupied with thoughts of the night before. Sure, it had been strange and scary, but it was the most interesting thing that had happened to her in a long time. Who else awakes to find a creature of the night crouched over them? Well, who else who had lived to tell the tale at least. She had known from the first moment that Marceline was indeed a vampire. Grey skin gleaming blue under the moonlight, soft chill of a thin finger pressed to her cheek, rich red eyes staring down at her, a face that looked like it had been carved out of smooth marble. All of that was a dead giveaway. Excusing the pun her mind had conjured, Bonnibel returned her attention back to the old papers littering the library desk.

She sighed after a while, realizing she hadn't taken in any information at all, her eyes had simply scanned the entire page without actually registering the words printed across it.

"Is everything alright, princess?" Came a voice from behind her.

"Oh, yes. everything's fine, thank you Peppermint." She assured the small butler. He didn't look too convinced, but didn't push the issue. He simply set a silver tray on the only paper-free section of the desk he could find.

"Would you like something to eat?" He asked.

She didn't, not really. But she could never say no to Peppermint. Bonnibel knew he would have prepared her food himself, just like the rest of her meals. "Thank you." She offered him a grateful smile, waiting for his returning one before turning her eyes back to the sheets in front of her.

Bonnibel picked at the cheesecake as Peppermint once again left her alone in the large room. It was delicious, as she had expected it to be, which got her thinking. Should she bring food to her room for Marceline? Do vampire even eat? If so, what do they eat? She gulped shook off a vision of the vampire taking a chunk out of her. Of course the vampire wasn't going to hurt her, like she said the night before, Bonnibel would already be dead if that was Marceline's intent.

"You can't think that of your friend." Bonnie whispered, mainly to reassure herself.

Her friend. The princess liked that. Sure, she already had friends, but they were made up of other princesses, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake the thought that their friendship was a little forced. Lumpy Space Princess was fun, and she could be nice when she wanted to be, but the two had met for the sake of their kingdoms. Just like the rest of her friends. Bonnibel didn't behave like the other children of the Candy Kingdom, better yet she wasn't allowed to. She couldn't leave the castle to walk the markets below, go to play areas like the other children. How could she possibly make her own friends trapped in a giant lonely castle? She couldn't. Well, that's what she had thought anyway.

A unpleasent thought hit her then, like a quick punch to her heartguts. What if Marceline had only agreed so the princess wouldn't shout for guards and turn her in? Or said it just to pacify her? What if she didn't actually show up? Bonnibel tried to shake it off, but just couldn't. She didn't know anything about Marceline. She only knew the vampire was old, she had said so herself. Why would someone like her come see a little royal anyway? She probably wasn't interested in being friends.

Bonnie pressed her lips together and tried to pull her attention back to her studies again. Hours and countless page turnings later, Bonnie pulled her eyes to the window above her. It was getting dark now, the sun just a gold sliver on the horizon.

Smiling, the princess shuffled the pages into a neat stack to return them to the archives then head to her room. On the way she peeked into the kitchens, they were mainly empty, apart from Cinnamon Bun who has apparently slipped and got his head caught in a pot. Was he even allowed in the castle kitchens? Sneaking past him as he wobbled around the room, Bonnie picked up a few unattended deserts and returned to the hallways.

The trip to her room was uneventful. Most of the guards were stationed outside or at main entrances, and the last person she had run into was Cinnamon Bun. A guilty look made it's way across the princess's face, she probably should have helped him out back there. Well, someone was bound to find him sooner or later, right?

Opening her bedroom door was tricky seeing as she had to balance two plates on her other arm. It turned out to be trickier than she had first thought, upon opening the door Bonnie stood of her own dress, knocking herself off balance sending one plate to the floor.

"Glob dammit!" Bonnibel knew it wasn't becoming of a princess to curse, but staring down at the mess that was once a velvet cake made her want to curse all the more.

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"This is dumb." Marceline muttered as she hovered high above the candy kingdom. She had been there since just after sundown. Why, she had no idea. It's not like the kid would be sent to bed this early. Why she was even coming back at all, glob knows. She put it down to boredom and the fact there was nothing else to do.

But deep down, she was interested by the child. She was smart, mature, and no where near as annoying Marceline had thought she would be. She wasn't scared of her. Okay, maybe she was at first, but there would be something seriously wrong if she wasn't terrified of a vampire sneaking into her bedchambers. When Marceline had let go and floated above the princess, she wasn't freaked out, she looked excited. Even happy that her assumption was correct. And most of all, the girl had wanted Marceline to come back.

She even asked to be friends. That's a demand the vampire rarely heard. Usually it was "Please don't kill me" or something along those lines. Never "Hey, let's be friends!"

She was strange. And for the vampire to think that was even stranger. She had met and uncountable number of people in her years, not much seemed strange anymore. It was almost refreshing.

"Maybe I shouldn't go." Marceline said to herself, staring down at the tower she knew the princess inhabited. It would be weird right? A vampire hanging out with a royal kid. But Bonnibel was captivating, she was interesting and in turn, interested by Marceline.

Adjusting the strap of her axebass, she gave up the inner turmoil in her head and swooped down to the princess's window. After slipping inside, first checking no one was around, she floated over to the large bed. Of course the princess wasn't there, it can't have been anywhere near her set bed time. She perched herself on the end of the pink bed, planning to amuse herself as she waited for Bonnibel's arrival. It was only after she had pulled her axe-bass around to rest on her thighs that she realized she couldn't actually play it. Marceline groaned, it wouldn't do her any good to be caught jamming in a royal's bedchamber. And how would she explain herself?

_'Yes hello, I'm the vampire queen and your little candy princess invited me over for a play date after I broke into her room last night. Don't worry, I already told her she'd be dead by now if I wanted to kill her, you have a nice night now.'_

Scoffing, she went to swing her bass around to rest on her back again, but quick footsteps made her pause. There was only one room up here; Bonnibel's. It was probably her, right? Not wanting to risk it, the vampire leapt to the ceiling to keep out of sight.

There was no need, it was the princess after all. Marceline was debating staying on the ceiling a while longer, fearing it might look weird that she was there so early. But it would be so weird if an hour from now she floated down, making it obvious she was creeping around.

She was the lumping vampire queen, and here she was worried about what a candy kid would think of her. Where's the sense in that. Rolling her shoulders, Marceline began to descend when she heard the clatter of a plat hitting the ground.

"Glob dammit!"

Marceline stopped, taking a second to asses the situation below her. She was going to comment on the child's language when she saw the mess of icing and cake across the once pristine carpet. Unable to contain her laughter, Marceline held onto her sides, her gasping causing her entire body to shake in midair.

The princess snapped her head up, her face relaxing when she saw it was Marceline, though it only lasted a second. Red-faced and angry Bonnibel pointed a finger at the wheezing woman.

"Don't you dare laugh!" Her face turning and even darker shade of red, Bonnie quickly shut her bedroom door and threw her hands on her hips. "It is not funny!"

"It's hilarious, the look on your face!" Was all Marceline could gasp out before falling into more laughing.

Bonnie just glared, keeping her hands on her hips, looking much like a mother scolding her misbehaving child. Seeing that look come from an actual child sobered the vampire up some.

"Alright, I'll stop. Just quit looking at me like that, jeez." She muttered, descending until her feet were mere inches off the floor.

A girl who could scold a vampire into behaving, oh, she was strange alright. Bonnie smiled, a happy little sweet smile, it fell once her eyes landed on the now ruined velvet cake.

"Uh, need some help cleaning that up?"

The princess ignored the teasing smirk and shook her head. "No, thank you. I'll clean it up later."

The next few minutes were occupied by the princess moving to sit on her bed, offering Marceline a piece of her cake that didn't wind up on the floor, and becoming confused as to why the vampire didn't accept. She asked if Marceline was hungry, but the vampire said that wasn't it. The horrible image of Marceline draining the life-force from Bonnibel hit the princess square in the chest then, only to make Bonnie guilty that had even crossed her mind. Seeing her sudden unease, Marceline rushed to explain.

"No, see, I don't eat solid food. I mean, I can. It just doesn't really uh, stop me being hungry. It actually makes me feel kinda sick after a while."

"Oh," Bonnie breathed. "So, what do you eat?"

Marceline was in the middle of floating down onto the bed to join the princess, and she nearly fell out of the air right then.

"Uh..."

It's not like she could tell her she drank blood. Okay, she _could. _But it didn't seem like the best idea. It's not a pleasant thought to Marceline, it would be downright horrifying to the kid. She hated it actually. Drinking blood. She hated the fact that sometimes, she would actually enjoy the thrill of the hunt. It was sickening to her. But she needed to survive somewhere. Where she came from, it was kill or be killed. No matter how much she despised it, she couldn't change it. Just like she couldn't change who she was. Snapping back to reality she noticed the princess was still staring at her.

_Oh, right. What do I eat._

She was planning a way of explaining that wouldn't make the girl scream and demand she leave when she remembered something. Years ago, she had forgotten how many, she had met a hitchhiking vegan vampire on the road. Her name didn't come to her memory. It was something that actually rhymed with name, for sure. Pain? No. Sane? Definitely a no, the woman had rocks tied into her hair for Glob's sake. Regardless, all she had gabbed about was how drinking the color red was a great substitute for blood, and that Marceline should try it. She had, when she was desperate or too fatigued to hunt. It worked, sure, but it was a quick fix if anything. Nowhere near as satisfying as the real thing. The princess was still staring.

"Red." She blurted out in a panic.

"...What?" Bonnie's forehead creased a little as she frowned and tilted her head, much like a confused puppy.

"I eat red. I guess drink is the best word for it." Marcy shrugged, setting herself down on the silk pushing her legs out in front of her. It wasn't exactly a lie, she _did _drink it. On occasion. "It's just the same as, um..."

"Drinking blood?" Bonnibel quietly offered after a while, adjusting her sitting position so her legs were laid flat, placing them in the space between Marceline's jean clad lower legs. It was a very intimate sitting position, not in a romantic way, it was just a very trusting gesture. Bonnie obviously knew what vampires did to keep themselves alive, or maybe keep themselves in limbo; alive wasn't the best way to describe the eternal undead. She knew and yet she sat comfortably around what anyone else would call a monster. If she had a working heart, Marceline would surely feel it warming. Just as she was, unexpectedly, warming up to the little pink princess. Though she would never say that out loud, she was _not _going soft. No way.

"Yeah, just the same. Only no one gets hurt."

Bonnibel started to move, for a second Marceline thought she had done something wrong and the girl was moving away from her, but apparently she was just reached for her plate. She picked it up with both hands and held it towards the vampire.

"Do you think you could show me?"

Looking down Marceline saw the remaining red velvet cake was left mainly untouched.

"I mean, if you want to anyway."

Taking the plate in her hand, Marceline nodded before setting it down on the space between her thighs. Taking a chuck between her fingertips, making sure it didn't crumble, she eased a single fang into the cake and placed her lips around the puncture.

It was strange, having the princess watch her feed. Her eyes alight with cautious interest, moving herself so she could see the colour drain from the food. It was actually a little embarrassing, she hadn't been stared at so intently before. Sucking up the remaining colour, she withdraw her fang before placing the cake back on the plate.

"Wow..." Bonnie breathed, eyes smiling. "Is the cake bad now?"

"What? You mean like it's gone bad?" The princess nodded. "No, it's just the same, still edible, though I don't really need to eat it after I've ate the colour."

Before she could register it, and that's saying something for a vampire, Bonnie had reached out and taken the now grey cake in her hand and nibbled at it. "Yeah, it tastes just the same!" She grinned before popping the whole chunk into her mouth. Damn, the kid was trusting. Too trusting. What if she had lied and it was now poisonous? Bonnie had no real way of knowing. She's a princess for glob's sake, there are always going to be people after her life.

"You shouldn't trust people so easily, y'know." Marceline said slowly, eyeing the child's reaction. Hoping she would not take her statement the wrong way and start to think Marceline actually had done something to the food.

"Why? You said there was nothing wrong with it, so I believed you." The girl explained, speaking around her fingers as she ate the crumbs lingering there. "Friends don't lie to friends."

"Can I ask you something, kid?" Marceline pulled her bass from her back, settling it between her thighs. She ran her fingers across the steel strings, never actually strumming for fear of it being too loud.

"I am not a child." Bonnie pouted, certainly giving her the appearance of a child, though her scowl said otherwise. "We're friends now, so you can call me Bonnibel."

"Alright, well Bonnie," Her scowl intensified at the flippant nickname, but it soon eased away. She had never been called 'Bonnie' before. Even her apparent friend LSP called her Bubblegum, and other variations of her surname. She guessed it was okay. She had accidentally called the vampire 'Marcy' the previous night. It would be rude for the princess to deny use of a nickname, hypocritical in fact. "Why do you wanna be friends with me, anyway?"

That caught Bonnibel a little off guard. "I told you," thankfully she managed not to stutter. "You're a royal too, and it's good to have connections with of royals around Ooo."

For a reason unknown to herself, Bonnibel couldn't meet Marceline's face, and instead took to looking intently at her bass. It clearly hadn't always been a bass guitar, it was still a weapon. Very obviously, an axe. The edges still looked very sharp, the moonlight glinting off them proving that. She wondered if it hurt the vampire to having to rest a thick blade against her legs, it didn't seem too. Her body looked very at ease infact. Vaugly Bonni hoped the axe would not cut into her soft bed sheets.

"Well yeah, you said that last night. But I'm not exactly a little princess you can have play tea parties with or whatever." Noticing the girls gaze on her axe, she smiled a little. Finally, a subject she was comfortable with. "It's an axebass." She said.

"Axebass." The girl said, as if testing the name in her mouth. "It's clear how it earned the name. Are there many guitars like that? I've never seen one before."

"Nah, there shouldn't be. This used to be the family axe, I think you can guess what it's used for." Bonnie nodded, almost solemnly. "Well yeah, I'm not really into that stuff."

She had to stop herself from adding 'anymore' to the end of her previous sentence. It would do no good for the princess to know any of that. It was in the past anyway. Little girls in big castles have no need to learn how a war can effect a little girl in a big burning world. Conversations about emotional scars are never fun.

"Music's more my thing." Marceline finished, throwing in a shrug for good measure.

"Can you play?"

Marceline smirked, raising an eyebrow and meeting the childs gaze.

"Can I play? Bon, you forgetting who you're talking to? I'm the Vampire Queen, I can do a lot of things. Yeah, I can play. I can play like hell." Her smirk grew. Yes, she was aware she may have a big ego, but she had all the talent to back it up. That's what mattered. "I sing too."

Her inflated ego didn't seem to faze the princess. It actually made her face light up in a grin. "Could I hear?" Her sweet voice begged. She quickly leaned forward onto her knees and straightened her back, throwing little pink fists to her chest. "Please?"

Marceline liked that, Bonnie was enthusiastic, and about _her. _Her ego inflated impossibly more, impressing a princess must do that to people. She was a split second away from letting go and knocking out some awesome jams for her little audience, but the somewhat logical part of the queens mind reminded her of where she was. How she ended up playing bass guitar to a kid in her bedroom at night is not something Marceline wanted to explain. To _anyone._

"Maybe another time. It's not like I can play here." She waved her hand around. Bonnie looked at it, then her room. Her mouth forming a perfect little circle as she understood.

"Oh... Yes, another time."

She was disappointed. Marceline could see it in the way her little shoulders slumped, and the slow way she sat back down, in the barely audible sigh that escaped her lips. Globdamnit. Marceline groaned, this was going to be so dumb. But still she swept of the bed and stood on the floor next to it. Keeping her bass hanging around her front, she faced away from the princess and knelt on the floor. "Get on." She instructed, no nonsense attitude radiating from the words.

"What?" She could feel blue eyes burning into her back.

Marceline groaned again, turning her head to look at the princess from over her shoulder. "Get on." She said slower this time.

"Why?" Bonnie asked quietly, yet she obeyed. Making her way over to Marceline she placed her hands on cold shoulders, and slotting her legs into the space created by the Queen arms.

"You wanted to hear me play, right?" She said standing up, the princess on the back. "Also, if I were you, I'd hold on a little tighter."

Looking confused, but obeying, Bonnibel wrapped her arms around Marceline's neck. She tightened her grip when she remembers the teen didn't really need air. "Like this?" She asked into the vampires pointed ear, attempting to keep her voice low, knowing of the increased hearing the teenager possessed.

"That's perfect."

Marceline flashed a wicked grin, and before Bonnibel could do anything she was being propelled out of her window and into the dark skies above.

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_****_**Thank you for reading and all of the reviews/favorites/follows. I think I might continue this into one more chapter, but we'll see how that goes it really depends on if people like this. I hope you enjoyed.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Put me down, Marceline!" The princess screamed, her voice washed out by the wind whooshing past the girls.

"You sure about that, princess?" Marceline raised an eyebrow.

Looking down, Bonnie saw her kingdom quickly disappearing underneath her, only faint lights below them now.

"N-no. It's fine, I'll stay up here."

The queen laughed, her chuckles moving the princess up and down with her back. "Funny, you say that like you really have a choice. I mean, I could put you down if you really wanted me to."

"Don't joke about that Marceline. You wouldn't dare drop me!" The princess held onto Marceline's neck even tighter, fighting the wind trying to knock her backwards.

"Oh, really?" Bonnie could see what she thought was a smirk. It was hard to tell when she couldn't see the vampires full face, it didn't help that inky black hair was dancing all around them too.

Before the princess could scold her, Marceline had flipped the princess in the air, letting her drop through nothing. Bonnibel could feel herself screaming, air tearing through her lungs and throat, but she couldn't hear it. All she could hear was the whistling of the air as it passed her ears.

"Gotcha."

Her descent halted rather quickly, snapping her eyes open she saw the vampire grinning down at her. Anger bubbled up in her then, paired unpleasantly with lingering fear.

"That was not funny, you butt! t was dangerous and reckless and..."

"Hey, I'm sorry all right? I didn't mean to freak you out so much." Marceline interrupted, feeling the princess's trembling. "It's not like I'd really let you fall."

The princess just looking away, anywhere but at the vampire and the ground very far below. Marceline's shoulders slumped, she really had scared her. Tightening her hold on the princess, who was now cradled in front of her princess-style, Marceline moved her head to look into the princess's face. She was red, and her blue eyes were watering. From fear or from the relentless wind, she didn't know.

"I'd never let you get hurt..." The princess titled her head a little, moving so she could see the vampires expression. "Promise."

"...Do you royal promise?" Bonnibel asked, turning in the queens arms.

"Uh... I'll pinkie promise you, okay?" A royal promise was a huge deal, a deal Marceline so did not feel like getting tied into. Not that she didn't mean it. As long as the princess was with her she'd make sure nothing happened to her. But how far do royal promises go? Would she be held responsible if Bonnie got hurt when she wasn't around? And what kind of hurt would they be talking about here? Emotional pain, physical, mental? No matter if she wanted to, Marceline couldn't protect the little pink princess from everything. Still, that didn't mean she wouldn't try.

A Pinky promise seemed like enough for the princess, her pink face lit up as she nodded. She reached out for Marceline's hand, the one holding up her legs, and locked the blue pinkie there with her own.

The rest of their flight mainly consisted of Marceline scanning the ground under them, swooping up and down to the young girl's delight, Bonnibel constantly trying to fix her gummy hair and keep her tiara upright, eventually giving up and letting it fall lopsided on her head. Glancing at her, Marceline saw Bonnibel grinning like the true child she was. It was nice to see. Being a such a young princess must really blow. Growing up with too many rules and too much education and too little freedom. Not to mention the pressure put on her. Even at a thousand years old, Marceline couldn't stand the thought of responsibilities, so what must the child princess think of it all?

Looking at her now, you wouldn't know she had a kingdom back home to rule. Right then, she looked like a happy, young, carefree girl. Just as she should.

All of Bonnie's earlier apprehension has apparently evaporated, her grip on the vampire's neck had loosened, though she kept her hands there. She would look out across the land, smiling. And sometimes she would close her eyes, tilt her head back and whisper "Wonderful".

Eventually Marceline had found the perfect spot and brought them both down until once again they were back on flat land.

Bonnie didn't climb down from Marceline's hold, instead she took in their new surroundings from her place in the vampire's arms. They were in the middle of a forest clearing, tall trees surrounding them on every side, flowers dotted the short grass and the moon shone unobstructed above them.

All in all, it was beautiful. It was like another world to Bonnibel, it felt as though it were only her and Marceline left in the entire world.

"What is this place?" Bonnibel asked, staring at the tall spruce trees. "Or... where is this place?"

Marceline shrugged as best she could whilst still holding the girl. "It's not that far away, I know how to get you home."

Bonnie nodded, and Marceline bent to put her down. She absently swung her legs to the ground and stood, still admiring the beautiful woods.

"I've never been this far from the castle before." She murmured. "I mean, I've been to other kingdoms for royal visits and such. But..."

The little princess turned, facing the queen who had started softly tuning her axebass. "Thank you for bringing me here, Marcy."

Marceline's face grew a little darker at the nickname. Man, how embarrassing. "Yeah, no problem. Couldn't start rocking out in your room, not with that mint guy on your case."

"Mint guy? Oh, you mean Peppermint Butler?"

Marceline shrugged, letting her hands slide across the steel strings of her bass. Seeing this, Bonnie dumped herself on to the ground and sat cross-legged, never thinking about how dirty her dress would get.

"So you really do wanna hear me play, huh?"

Bonnibel only nodded vigorously.

"Alright." She groaned as she fell into playing. Though secretly, she loved this. She loved the way Bonnie would lean her head in her little hands, only looking at her or her fingers dancing across frets. She had performed for thousands of people, but never had someone looked at them like that. Like right then she was the only thing in the world. Like if Bonnie pulled her eyes away for a single second, she would miss something so important. Like she wasn't a monster, she was an artist.

As her improvised song came to a close, Bonnie started clapping and faking the cries of a huge audience with drawn out Ahh's and Ooo's. The queen laughed and took a mocking bow, expressing her thanks to the giant make-believe audience.

"Bravo!" The princess clapped, staying seated. "You're amazing, Marceline. But, you said you sing too?"

"Yeah, why? Wanna hear that too?" More quick nodding. "Alright."

She considered singing a song of her own creation, but none of those were finished. She had old songs she had completed, but somehow they didn't seem good enough. Not that she wanted to impress the princess, she had nothing to prove to a royal kid. First impressions are important, even the vampire queen knew that, so the first song Bonnibel would her had to be good.

An old song came floating to her mind then. Like, really old. It had been around before the mushroom war, Marcy had found an album amongst the rubble of what must have been a music store and weeks later found a working CD player. What was the album name again? For the life, maybe death, of her she couldn't remember. The name was faded and scratched out, somehow the useful side of the CD was left unharmed.

Straightening her back, she recalled the lyrics. They came to her, much like a long lost friend.

"I'm here to collect your hearts, it's the only reason that I sing." Her voice rand out, dispelling the soft silence of the forest around them. "I don't believe a word you say but I can't stop listening."

She had a lovely voice. Strong and oozing with confidence, but it wrapped around Bonnibel like smooth velvet taking her out of the clearing and into the song.

"This is the story of how they met, her picture was on the back of a pack of cigarettes, and when she touched him he turned ruby red." Marceline was up in the air now, swirling around with her bass in hand, cradling it like a lover as she danced with the air. Bonnibel didn't even care to ask what a cigarette was. "A story that they'll never forget, never forget..."

Her bass picked up then, growing louder and filling Bonnie's chest with a happiness that could only ever be caused by music. She could tell Marceline felt it too, her movement through the air was quicker, she saw life in the undead girl that she had never seen in anyone before.

"...And all the boys are smoking menthols, girls are getting back rubs, I will drift to you if you if you make yourself shake fast enough."

It was amazing to watch Marceline. Truly amazing. The way she danced with the very air, her hair disobeying gravity just as she did, her passion flowing through on her words and beats oozing from her treasured axebass. Her eyes were shut, but her face was peaceful, a smile shone through as she purred out the words.

Sooner than she would have liked, the vampire stopped singing, the song ending with a few more strums before coming to a close. Marceline opened her eyes, looking like she just remembered where she was and who she was with.

This time the little princess didn't clap. She sat in awe of Marceline, words barely coming to her, and the ones that did simply were not good enough.

"That was..." Bonnibel breathed out, desperately trying to explain how stunned she was. "You're amazing." Was the best her astonished mind could think of.

Marceline rejoined her on the ground and sat opposite her, also cross legged. "Heh, thanks."

"No, really. That was really, really good Marceline!" Her astonished face melting into a face splitting smile as she pressed little pink fists to her own chest.

"You think so? Awesome." Marceline smirked, a little blue staining her cheeks. Who knew the princess was into this junk? She had assumed it wasn't her style. "That wasn't one of my songs though, but uh, it means a lot to me I guess. Kinda got me through a rough time or whatever."

Bonnie nodded, trying to stifle a yawn behind her hand, then let herself fall back into the grass. Marceline shuffled and joined her. "Hope I'm not boring you, kid." She joked.

Bonnie only stuck out her tongue, making the vampire laugh. They didn't know how long they laid there in the forest clearing, staring up at the stars. They talked about everything and nothing. Bonnibel explained her princess duties, telling Marceline how she's more interested in science and explaining the unexplained Marceline talked about her travels, the things she has seen and done. Sharing those things made them seem greater than they were. Or maybe they were great, she just never shared them like this before. It was worth it though, to see a little pink face light up and ask how it was even possible to swim up a moving waterfall. She had replied by saying it was also possible to play tennis in the belly of a volcano.

After a while, perhaps a long while, Bonnibel had started yawning again along with letting her eyes droop. Wordlessly Marceline scooped the princess up and ascended once more into the sky. It was very late now, or very early. She never had a good concept of time, but the oranges and purples starting to paint the sky told her it was almost dawn. Perfect time to get the hell outta dodge.

Halfway into their journey back, Bonnibel has stopped fighting off sleep. Marceline was actually thankful for it, the girl had been constantly jolting back awake, scaring Marceline half to life every single time. Now she lay nestled in strong arms, her breathing soft and deep with slumber.

This girl really was strange. Who slept in the arms of a vampire? And who looked so damn comfortable doing it?

Marceline slipped back into Bonnie's bedroom, pulled open the bed sheets and laid the sleeping princess down. As she was wrapping the girl up, a little haphazardly, a hand clutched into the vampire's grey shirt.

"Will you stay?" A little murmur came from the bed.

Marceline blinked before smiling. "Bonnie, you're dreaming."

"No I'm not." The girl sat up in bed to prove she was indeed conscious.

"Uh, I would but I don't think I can." She flicked her thumb over her shoulder to point to the window. She sky was lighter now, proving that sunrise was arriving soon.

A tired pout made its way onto Bonnie's face, but she nodded and laid back down, already shutting her eyes. "Another time then." She yawned into her puffy pillows before finally drifting off.

Marceline smiled and shook her head. This kid, what a mystery.

Stooping down, the vampire kissed pink hair before straightening and soaring out of the window.

The world was full of wonders, yes. But all of those wonders had been seen a million times by a million people. Huge mountains, dark caves, deep canyons, underwater caverns. They had all been figured out. They all had reason and explanations. Maybe the wonders of the world weren't what Marceline needed. Maybe what Marceline needed was a strange, pink little princess who was more interested in science and logic than dolls and tea parties. Maybe a little mystery was wonderful enough.

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**Thank you for reading! I think this story is complete now. Sorry this chapter took a little while, and thank you all for the reviews/favorites/follows! **

**The song used was Where Did The Party Go by Fall Out Boy from the album Save Rock And Roll. I in no way own the song or have any connections with it.**

**Thank you. **


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